Mike Miller braced for pain, still hopeful of contributing

PHILADELPHIA — Forward Mike Miller said just because he is cringing every time there is contact with his left hand does not mean those watching should not cringe.

While the Miami Heat reserve forward said his injured left thumb likely will need offseason surgery, he insists he is managing the pain during this opening-round best-of-seven NBA playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers.sp

"Nah, it's going to be fine," he said Thursday. "Grimacing is all right. It's a little bit of pain. Pain never hurt anybody."

Miller had been used in limited spurts by coach Erik Spoelstra, who then assessed how much the veteran reserve can contribute on a given night. He did not play in Thursday's Game 3 of the series..

"He's not playing at 100 percent health," Spoelstra said. "We all know that right now. And what I've told him is just give us whatever he can and he's a warrior. He's proven so many times this year, and it's been a challenging year for him from a health standpoint, that he's physically tough in terms of playing through injuries, playing through pain, all of that."